Women Worth More conference in Charlotte on Wednesday to focus on entrepreneurship and finances

As Sara White explained how she once showed a young client how to budget his income, I had a flashback to my own childhood.

White said she set up multiple envelopes, enough to cover eight months of utility bills. She encouraged the client to stuff the envelopes with cash from every payday, so he’d have enough to cover bills once they came due.

Then she joked that others may find that system – which she learned from her parents – kind of strange. But I could relate. My own mom was big on the envelope system, complete with numbers and dates written on the outside, to track amounts.

White, 52, is co-owner of CLT Residential Real Estate Partners, and widow of the late Reggie White, who was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. That young client receiving the envelope advice was one of White’s teammates with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sara White said she’d help some of the young players with relocations – and with budgeting tips, too.

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Other panelists are Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run and Red Boot Coalition; Jennifer Davis, CEO of JP Davis and Associates and author of “A Faith Greater than Grief...A Mother’s Journey”; and Michelle Horton, Founder of YOUniversity Drive. Horton is also the conference emcee.

After her husband’s death, she had two degrees and a real estate license – and the goal of sticking with a commitment she and Reggie had made to get several children in the family through college, including their own two kids.

“Financially, it was a mental thing how I had to get it together. But through the strength of my sister, brother-in-law, my parents... and my children, it helped me through that era.

“But I know real estate helped me as well because it kept me focused on other people, and not feeling sorry for myself. ”